[Athen] Section 508 Refresh - Now In Effect?

[Gaeir Dietrich]

I agree. OCR is free, so it is a bit non-intuitive that someone might want
to go to the expense and trouble of an actual suit. Other factors may come
into play, however.

 

OCR does not go through a full-scale investigation process with every case
brought to them. They will do a preliminary investigate, and if they feel
that the campus can fix the problem quickly or that there is really no case
for whatever reason, OCR may not engage a full-scale process.

 

Also, OCR does not necessarily grant damages. Most of the time the OCR
resolution asks that the college fix the problem and cover legal fees. There
may be fairly limited pay-outs to the students (usually less than $50,000),
but not always even that.

 

In this particular case, NFB has become involved, so I suspect that they
believe that it will be a strong case that will send a strong message to the
colleges. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Gaeir (rhymes with "fire") Dietrich
HTCTU Director
408-996-6047

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of S A. Marositz
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 1:01 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: Re: [Athen] Section 508 Refresh - Now In Effect?

 

Hi All 

 

The recent case against LACCD got me thinking, what reason would an
individual not first file a complaint with The Office of Civil Rights before
fileing a suit?

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/20761833/Roy_Payan,_et_al_v_Los_Ang
eles_Community_College_District,_et_alDo 

 

Thanks

Stephen Alexander Marositz J.D.
Assistive Technology Specialist, Pasadena City College
Phone: (626) 585-7242

 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of steve.noble at louisville.edu
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 12:18 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Section 508 Refresh - Now In Effect?

 

I would suspect the link to 508-related lawsuits in a post-secondary setting
would be either through:

(1) Suits brought under state law (only a few states, like Kentucky, have
these) which mandate compliance with Section 508 and give individuals the
right to sue state-supported institutions for injunctive relief; or

(2) Breach-of-contract suits brought by institutions against vendors who
certified their products as compliant with Section 508, when the product was
later found to be non-compliant.

 

A suit brought against a university by an individual with a disability
concerning inaccessible technology would normally be constructed around the
ADA and Section 504, although it would be expected that part of the evidence
provided would be lack of compliance with "generally accepted" accessibility
standards, such as WCAG and Section 508.

 

--Steve Noble
steve.noble at louisville.edu
502-969-3088
http://louisville.academia.edu/SteveNoble

  

  _____  

From: athen-list [athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] on behalf
of Jennifer Sutton [jsuttondc at gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 1:51 PM
To: chagnon at pubcom.com; Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: Re: [Athen] Section 508 Refresh - Now In Effect?

Perhaps some of you who know 508 (both new and old) better than I do can
clarify this for me. But I'm a little concerned at the mention of "lawsuits"
below, especially since there's already plenty of fear, uncertainty, and
doubt in the higher ed. space, due to lawsuits . . .

 

Are there really likely to be 508-related lawsuits? As I understood things,
it would take a *long* time for anything 508-related to turn into a lawsuit.
Mostly, they're complaints that people with disabilities must file, and
then, the Federal agency (or other institution, if it falls under 508) must
take action, etc. In other words, I don't think 508 functions like filing
something against a company or institution that turns into a DoJ agreement
(if the organization doesn't take satisfactory action, of course).

 

I hope this is clear, and that someone else can clarify further.  I'm not
saying 508 isn't important; I'm just not so sure it's going to result in a
deluge of lawsuits beginning in 2018.

 

Does anybody have a list of the lawsuits that have happened under the old
508? I'd be interested to see it.

 

Best,

Jennifer

 

 

On 3/21/2017 9:31 AM, Chagnon | PubCom wrote:

Yes, Sec. 508 goes into effect today, March 21.

It becomes enforceable on January 18, 2018.

 

Translation: All ICT (information communication technology) published from
January 18 and forward must be compliant. The lawsuits will begin on January
18, 2018. You have 9 months to get your act together. 

 

See:
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.federalregister.go
v_documents_2017_03_02_2017-2D04059_information-2Dand-2Dcommunication-2Dtech
nology-2Dict-2Dstandards-2Dand-2Dguidelines&d=AwMDaQ&c=SgMrq23dbjbGX6e0ZsSHg
EZX6A4IAf1SO3AJ2bNrHlk&r=4WMck1ZVLo4tV0IVllcBNKXCSGU6lUERtx_4HD4DqmE&m=e9GPf
qS2Zsu_QJYY04S9snLxbUSmbvQLtAfEdSpdTpk&s=YIu1Q4jJX8fSzT3gDVpnytVRJDPTGj_oD1q
iULIAkj0&e=>
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/03/02/2017-04059/information-
and-communication-technology-ict-standards-and-guidelines 

 

Quoted from the Federal Register:

"DATES:

The effective date of the final rule published on January 18, 2017 at 82 FR
5790 is delayed to March 21, 2017. However, compliance with the section
508-based standards is not required until January 18, 2018, which is one
year after the final rule's original publication date. Compliance with the
section 255-based guidelines is not required until the guidelines are
adopted by the Federal Communications Commission. The incorporation by
reference of certain publications listed in the final rule published on
January 18, 2017 at 82 FR 5790 is approved by the Director of the Federal
Register as of March 21, 2017."

 

If you are a US-based institution, then yes, Sec. 508 is the law you must
follow.

 

However, understand the difference between laws and standards. 

 

This law does not define the standards for accessibility for some ICT but
does for others:

*	For websites, digital media, and documents like Word and PDFs, the
law "includes by reference" the international accessibility standards WCAG
2.0 and PDF/UA-1. 
*	For Sec. 255 technologies, especially telecom, cell phones, kiosks,
and software, it defines the standards but they are currently delayed. 

 

We recommend that our clients follow WCAG 2.0 for all website information.

 

Document-based ICT, including PDFs that are posted on websites, is more
accessible if you follow PDF/UA (PDF Universal Accessibility) guidelines as
the WCAG guidelines really don't work for PDFs. PDF and HTML technologies
are not the same. A recent blog explains the differences between these two
technologies and standards:
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.pubcom.com_blog_201
7-2D01-2D03_wcag-2Dpdf-2Dstandards.html&d=AwMDaQ&c=SgMrq23dbjbGX6e0ZsSHgEZX6
A4IAf1SO3AJ2bNrHlk&r=4WMck1ZVLo4tV0IVllcBNKXCSGU6lUERtx_4HD4DqmE&m=e9GPfqS2Z
su_QJYY04S9snLxbUSmbvQLtAfEdSpdTpk&s=NPqurNazLb_fysGkqFrOQENUn4R6ERsFmybcQ6j
zIo8&e=> http://www.pubcom.com/blog/2017-01-03/wcag-pdf-standards.html 

 

--Bevi Chagnon

 

 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Kressin, Lori L. (llk2t)
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 11:52 AM
To: ATHEN  <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>
<athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Athen] Section 508 Refresh - Now In Effect?

 

Good morning all, 

 

Here we are on March 21, 2017. Does that mean that the refresh of Section
508 is now in effect? 

 

I have not heard anything to contrary, but I certainly could have missed
something.

 

What is the general thought - is this the standard that you and your
institution will now follow?

 

Thanks for your input,

 

Lori

 

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------------------------------
Lori Kressin
Coordinator of Academic Accessibility

Office of the Executive VP and Provost . Univ. of Virginia

102 Cresap Rd . POB 400199 . Charlottesville, VA . 22903

[434] 982-5784

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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